Knecht's » Employees

An Extraordinary Spring demands Extraordinary Measures

Leif Knecht — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:30:59 +0000

The mild winter and extremely early start to the 2012 growing season has been both very enjoyable and extremely challenging at Knecht’s Nurseries. A very warm February and early March forced us to uncover protected plant materials almost a month early. More abnormally warm weather throughout March got most trees and shrubs to break dormancy and begin growing – something which has not happened in recent record keeping memory.

During recent cold waves, all our staff members have had to really work hard to bring trees and shrubs with tender new growth into every nook and cranny of our greenhouses, or group, tip and cover plants once again. The happy result of all this activity is that we have lots of beautiful trees, shrubs and perennials in great condition. The downside is that we are on our third round of uncovering, organizing, recovering, uncovering, etc. We are grateful for the extraordinary efforts of our employees. They are the ones who make it possible for us to provide you with excellent landscape plants and knowledgeable customer service. We also want to thank our customers who bear with us when we are still organizing – re-organizing, etc.

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Part-time Position

Deb Knecht — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:43:37 +0000

Irrigation System Operator/Technician. Experience not needed. Perfect for the retired/semi-retired person. Work 12-20 hours per week April thru October in the mornings. Must be able to do a lot of walking, bending and stooping to activate valves and make corrections/replacements and/or repairs to the system on poorly functioning irrigation spray stakes and lines. Closely observing plants to determine how much to irrigate and where to make the upgrades. We will train the person hired. This is a fairly light duty work position requiring the ability to be detail oriented and consistent.

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Jobs Available for 2012

Deb Knecht — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:24:23 +0000

In 5 short weeks – we start up our greenhouses and hit the ground running. Next week, we have two full-time people coming back already! We are beginning our hiring process for the upcoming season. The following are the jobs available at the current time:

Retail Sales Asst. Manager – Fulltime Previous sales expereience and knowledge of plant material IS REQUIRED!

Nursery Production Asst. Manager – Fulltime Previous horticulture experience is required

Watering – Parttime Work hours would be mornings – 3-4 hours per shift. Watering container plants and plant maintenance

All positions are outdoor positions. Must possess the ability to tolerate all weather conditions. Must be able to safely lift up to 60 pounds. All positions will require weekend hours. Weekends are rotated. Wages are commensurate with experience.

Job applications can be picked up here at the nursery. Week of January 23rd – Mon – Fri. – 9 am to Noon. Week of January 28th and after – Mon – Fri. 8 am to 4 pm. Job interviews will be scheduled starting the week of January 28th.

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Jim Westlund, Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional

Deb Knecht — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:29:12 +0000

: Jim Westlund

Congratulations to our Landscape Division Manager, Jim Westlund, who recently was awarded his certification as a Minnesota Certified Landscape Professional. A great depth of knowledge and real world hands on landscaping experience is necessary to pass the daunting test that has earned Jim the Landscape Professional designation.

Jim Westlund’s elevation to the top tier of his profession as a Minnesota Certified Landscape Professional is a natural outgrowth of his incredible work ethic, natural smarts, leadership skills and attention to detail in every aspect of landscape installations for our customers.

The certified designation is achieved with cooperation through the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. “The objective of the MNLA Certified Professional program is to uphold, improve, and promote standards of professionalism and excellence within the industry. By focusing on individuals rather than companies, the program encourages self-improvement among industry professionals.”

Jim is the fifth person at Knecht’s Nurseries and Landscaping to earn certification as a nursery and landscape professional. He joins owners Leif and Deb Knecht, retail manager, Heidi Brosseau, and Landscape Designer, Amy Voight among the recognized leaders in the industry. Very few nursery and landscape businesses our size have this many certified professionals available to help serve their customers!

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Shaping the Future

Deb Knecht — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:06:14 +0000

Leif Knecht participated in a workshop on January 19th & 20th to help chart the future of the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. Eighteen selected industry professionals from all parts of the state worked intensively with the staff of MNLA to zero in on the best ways to continually improve the knowledge, offerings, tools, resorurces, networking and professionalism we all need to offer our customers the very best goods and services.

It was a dynamic and energizxing opportunity to do our part to help assure that Knecht’s Nurseries & Landscaping will always b e at the leading edge of the world of beautiful plants, and how best to use them in the landscape to create inviting and enjoyable outdoor spaces. When the growing s eason starts and you make your first trip of the year to our nursery, you will begin to see how we are growing and changing to help you grow and change your landscape into an evermore beautiful place.

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Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Assn. Convention

Deb Knecht — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:31:51 +0000

: Belinda Jensen and Bobby Jensen

: Senator Al Franken

We attended the annual Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association Convention last week held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. There is a trade show where we visit the booths of the industry vendors on plants, machines, technology and more, and there are many, many educational seminars which we all attend and are able to bring back new and exciting ideas for our business. We were fortunate to have 9 of our staff attend this year’s convention – which were Leif & Deb Knecht, Heidi Brossueau, Jim Westlund, Amy Voight, Luis Olave, Ben Danielson, Connie Rew and Kathy Lewis.

This year, Senator Al Franken addressed the group right ahead of the keynote speaker’s message. It was an unexpected treat to be able to see and listen to the Senator for a few moments.

Bobby Jensen and Belinda Jensen from KARE-11′s Grow with KARE spent time at the Bailey Nurseries booth. With the weather being unbelieveable this winter and the enthusiasm of all of the people at the Convention, we are all definitely excited for spring!

We do have limited office hours in January – however – we do return phone calls and e-mails everyday so if you have a question on anything – please do not hesitate to contact us!

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Northern Green Expo

Deb Knecht — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:48:38 +0000

Knecht Crew at Expo

This week we are attending the Northern Green Expo sponsored by the Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association. The Expo consists of many education seminars, vendors from the ‘Green Industry’ in the Trade Show and networking with others in the industry – from others with garden centers, landscaping businesses, golf courses (turf management), sod farms, tree care companies, etc. Today we attended seminars on websites, business management, elm trees, installation of stone walls, container gardens and hydrangeas. It’s always a great kickoff to our upcoming season.

Pictured are Luis Olave, Jim Westlund, Leif Knecht, Heidi Brosseau and Darin Heilman.

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Habitat for Humanity

Deb Knecht — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:07:11 +0000

We have had the privilege again this year to donate plant materials to the Rice County Habitat for Humanity housing projects. Knecht’s Nurseries deeply appreciates the support of the greater Northfield area and has as a part of our mission to give something back to the community on an annual basis.

Shown here is one of our employees – Luis Olave – who volunteered on his day off to help with the project, and Todd Uplegger planting a large balled and burlapped maple tree which we donated to the project at 230 Spring Wheat Drive in Dundas, MN. We also donated plant materials to the house being built in Lonsdale, MN at 127 Elm Street N. Our hats off to Luis!

The Habitat for Humanity program gives a start to families that have struggled in the past and have met the criteria for being selected as a recipient for the homes. The formal dedication for these homes is Sunday afternoon, August 29th. More information on the dedication of this year’s homes can be found in the article in the Saturday, August 28th, Northfield News.

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Our Design Team

Deb Knecht — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:15:31 +0000

We have a new landscape designer! John Oehlenschlager, along with our lead designer Kristin Lucas are both busy setting up appointments and booking landscape jobs! Check out our specials page – they are offering an early-bird discount for plans drawn before April 1st!

John comes with 24 years of experience – as a designer and a landscape installer! His specialty is hardscapes and we are very excited to have him on board!

Check out our Landscaping Page for more information on our design services! Even if you don’t need a landscape plan drawn up, our landscape consultations are a very valuable service! Give us a call and you can discuss your landscaping needs with Kristin or John!

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Perennials

Deb Knecht — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:39:41 +0000

Spring has arrived in the greenhouses! We have been planting perennial plugs for the last several days and the houses are filling up quickly. We’ll have the usual go-to perennials, but we have many of the newest releases coming this spring as well. I asked Heidi – our retail manager – what she was excited about so far in the ones that they have potted up, and she said the Jade Phlox and the Geums looked awesome, but the one she sounded most excited about was the Red Knee High Echinacea. A deep, deep pink color with a mature height of 24″ makes this an echinacea for use in front of the taller perennials or shrubs where a more compact plant is needed.

Our plant lists have all been updated with the plants available now in 2010, and our Plant Search has many of these plants on it and will be soon updated with many more.

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